Potential Tax Write offs as a Personal Assistant for Real Estate Broker

I just started working as an independent contractor for a real estate broker as their personal assistant. This is my first time being self-employed and I'm trying to figure out what all I can legitimately write off on my taxes. Obviously I want to maximize my deductions but don't want to get in trouble with the IRS. I use my personal car to run errands for the broker, occasionally buy office supplies, and sometimes work from home when I'm not at the broker's office. I also use my personal phone for work calls and emails. Are these things I can deduct? What about a portion of my internet bill since I sometimes work from home? Any advice from people who've been in similar situations would be super helpful as I'm trying to keep good records from the start. Thanks!

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18 comments

Laila Fury

•8M

As someone who's worked as an independent contractor in real estate for years, I can definitely help! Since you're an independent contractor (likely receiving a 1099-NEC), you'll report your income and expenses on Schedule C. Yes, you can deduct business mileage for using your car for work errands (but not commuting to a regular office). Keep a detailed log with dates, miles driven, and business purpose. For 2025 tax year, you can choose between the standard mileage rate or actual car expenses. Office supplies are 100% deductible when used for business. For your home office, you can claim a deduction if you have a space used exclusively and regularly for business. This can include a portion of internet, utilities, and rent/mortgage based on the percentage of your home used for business. Phone expenses are deductible for the business percentage - if you use your phone 50% for business, you can deduct 50% of the costs. Same goes for internet if you're working from home.

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Laila Fury

•8M

The home office doesn't necessarily need to be a separate room, but it does need to be a clearly defined space used exclusively for business. A dedicated desk in your bedroom could qualify if you use that space only for work and nothing else. No, you don't need to take pictures for regular filing, but it's not a bad idea to have documentation in case of an audit. More importantly, keep good records of all your expenses, including mortgage/rent, utilities, insurance, etc., so you can accurately calculate the percentage used for business.

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Simon White

•8M

I was in the same boat as you last year working for a realtor! Definitely check out https://taxr.ai - it was a lifesaver for me. I uploaded all my receipts and it sorted everything into the right tax categories. As a personal assistant, there's tons of little expenses that add up, and the system helped me identify deductions I would've missed. The best part was I could just take pictures of receipts on my phone as I got them rather than trying to organize everything at tax time.

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Simon White

•8M

Yes, it works with all the major tax software! It doesn't replace your tax filing software - it just organizes everything and helps identify deductions, then you can export that info to whatever you use to file. Regarding business vs personal expenses, you'll still need to indicate which purchases were for business. But it helps by learning patterns - for example, if you regularly buy supplies from Office Depot for work, it starts to recognize those. You can always override any categorizations it makes. The real value is in catching deductions you might forget about and keeping everything organized throughout the year.

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Nasira Ibanez

•8M

Just wanted to follow up about taxr.ai - I gave it a shot after my initial skepticism and wow, total game changer! I uploaded 3 months of statements and receipts and it found nearly $1,800 in deductible expenses I would have missed. It flagged things like the portion of my cell phone bill I use for client calls, some software subscriptions, and even some home office expenses I didn't realize qualified. The interface is super straightforward and it gave me confidence that I'm maximizing deductions without crossing any lines. Definitely worth checking out if you're new to the independent contractor world!

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Khalil Urso

•8M

If you're dealing with the IRS at all (which you probably will as a new independent contractor), I highly recommend Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I spent HOURS trying to get through to the IRS about my contractor status and estimated tax payments. Claimyr got me connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes when I'd been trying for days on my own. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c if you want to see how it works. It's basically a service that navigates the IRS phone tree and waits on hold for you, then calls you when an agent is actually on the line.

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Khalil Urso

•8M

They use an automated system that dials and navigates through all the IRS menu options, then stays on hold so you don't have to. When an actual IRS agent picks up, you get a call connecting you directly to that agent. It saves you from potentially being on hold for hours. I'm not saying you can't do it yourself, but I personally wasted almost 3 hours on hold before getting disconnected. With Claimyr, I was able to go about my day, and they called me when an agent was ready. They don't get through "faster" than you could - they just handle the waiting part so you don't have to sit there listening to hold music.

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Brian Downey

•8M

I have to eat my words about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try it because I had some questions about estimated tax payments as a new contractor. Called the IRS three times on my own and got disconnected each time after 45+ minutes on hold. Used Claimyr and got connected to an agent in about 20 minutes without having to sit through all the hold nonsense. The agent answered all my questions about quarterly payments and even helped me understand some deductions specific to working with real estate professionals. Saved me a huge headache and probably a lot of money in the long run by getting the right information upfront.

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Jacinda Yu

•8M

That's actually a good question about Spotify. If you're using it exclusively for business purposes like open houses, you might be able to deduct it. However, if you also use it personally (which most people do), you would need to determine what percentage is for business use and only deduct that portion. Generally speaking, you need to be careful with these "dual-use" subscriptions. The safest approach would be to keep track of how many hours/days you use it specifically for open houses compared to personal use. But honestly, for something relatively small like a Spotify subscription, the record-keeping burden might outweigh the tax benefit.

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